New York Bankruptcy

A lien can make it much more difficult to sell your property, as the property can’t be sold or even refinanced until the lien is removed. In New York, liens are most often placed by the New York Department of Revenue, HOAs, or contractors when they haven’t been paid. There are several ways in which…

Many older Americans who are contemplating bankruptcy worry it may impact their Social Security benefits. This is a reasonable concern, as many retirees rely on that income to survive.  Here’s what you need to know. You Must Report Social Security You must report your Social Security income on your bankruptcy schedule like any other income…

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is one of the most important laws protecting consumers from debt collectors. It is vital for you to understand your rights under the FDCPA and to understand what to do if those rights are being violated. The FDCPA has been the law since March of 1978, and it was…

An adversary preceding is a separate legal action taken during a bankruptcy case that seeks to achieve federal student loan discharge. It is, essentially, a lawsuit that you are launching to obtain student loan relief.  Most private student loans may be discharged in normal bankruptcy proceedings.  When you launch an adversary preceding, you are making…

When you’re in debt, garnishment is one of the worst outcomes and one of the biggest fears you can face. After all, it’s hard to meet your basic daily needs when a powerful company reaches your paycheck or bank account directly. Fortunately, garnishments don’t just happen. First, a creditor has to sue you and win…

Personal injury and bankruptcy often go hand in hand. While a large personal injury settlement may eventually grant relief to a party who has lost their job or ability to work to the actions of a negligent party, the law governing bankruptcy and personal injury settlements is complicated. Of course, most personal injury settlements do…

In a bankruptcy case, the automatic stay prevents creditors from continuing to pursue collection actions while the case is underway. It’s a powerful protection that gives borrowers vital breathing room during the case. Yet there are scenarios in which a creditor can request to have the automatic stay lifted. Which creditors may lift the automatic…

If you receive a cash gift from family members or friends during your bankruptcy you can’t necessarily just deposit into the bank or spend it.  Note that receiving $5 or $10 probably doesn’t matter a great deal here. We’re generally talking about significant cash gifts in the hundreds or thousands of dollars when we discuss…

You may already know that filing for bankruptcy can help you avoid a wage garnishment. In the ideal world, you’d come to our office long before the completion of a lawsuit that results in a wage garnishment.  Yet some people fight till the bitter end, and end up losing some money from their paychecks before…

By the time a debt has gone to collections, there are only a few advantages to paying them off. On newer credit scoring algorithms a paid off or zeroed out debt will be ignored while credit scoring. And paying off collection agencies can certainly make your phone stop ringing, eventually. Yet the number one reason…